Manic Monday: THANK YOU

You guys!! All that pestering you to vote for me paid off! More Pieces of Me won the People's Choice Award for "Best Use of Social Media" at the St. Louis Fashion Week Blogger Awards Friday night!!! I can't take credit for this because this award is representative of all of your support and voting! And putting up with me! Especially the husband who not only photographs me, but reads this blog every day and was happier for me to win than I was myself! I'm so grateful, and it's silly, but this award validates my hobby, makes me feel more connected to the city of St. Louis, and basically just makes me feel like I've got my big girl pants on.

I've never been surrounded by so many trendy, well dressed people before! Luckily, I was very comfortable with my outfit choice. Definitely took some polling of my inner circle Thursday night, but ultimately, I ended up with this Bailey 44 dress - my go to brand for fun and unique dresses! Accessories were minimal - just chose my Stella and Dot basics. And I opted for a satchel verses more of a evening bag because I didn't want to have to lug around my camera on my neck or shoulder.

This is my "Hmm, I'm surrounded by fashion bloggers and don't have to feel awkward about taking photos" realization face.

Necklace: Stella and Dot | Bag: Kate Spade (option, budget option) | Dress: Bailey 44 (option, option)   | Bracelet: Stella and Dot | Ring: Stella and Dot | Shoes: Pedro Garcia (option, option)

The night itself was pretty amazing! This was my first ever fashion event, so it was all so fascinating to me. The venue just opened to the public a couple of weeks ago - it's an open air pavilion called the Public Media Commons. Such a great space - it was awesome to see a sexier side of St. Louis, in more ways than one! 

The night wasn't just about the blogger awards, it served as the official kickoff party to St. Louis Fashion Week. There were a handful of popup shops - Shirt Kong, August Abroad, The Clover. And you know shopping is better when accompanied by some adult beverages, so I was sipping on some Pinnacle Cranapple Vodka while the husband enjoyed some Peroni Italian Lager. I also probably ate my weight in hummus but it was just so good! (Yes, there were other small bites, but I'm just a big hummus fan!) Before the awards, there was a still-fashion show of Grace Kubilius' collection --- loved this! And then after the awards, we were really able to appreciate the venue's technology with a couple of video presentations.

One of the two video walls at the Public Media Commons

Grace Kubilius Still-model fashion presentation (2 of 2)

Photos from Instagram

Clockwise from top left: 1- Tess Boyer (from The Voice!) stopping me to ask where I got my dress! How freaking cool is that?! | 2- Post award (and meeting Tess) pic | 3- Posing with a couple of the event workers with one of the many St. Louis birthday cakes sprinkled around the City | 4- Grace Kubilius Still-model fashion presentation (1 of 2)

As they kicked off the awards presentation, the folks at Alive Magazine talked about how important bloggers are to #STLFW because we act as the voice for all of the designers, and they recognized how much time and effort goes into blogging. I love that they view blogging through a different lens -- as something that is invaluable verses superficial and a waste of time-- and the awards are meant to celebrate this. When I heard my blog name called, my first two thoughts were - don't drop your drink, and don't trip on the step in front of you. True story. 

I keep getting asked, "What do/did you win?" We ended up getting a printed award along with an August Abroad necklace with a Missouri charm that is hand-stamped with the hashtag #stlfwba. I really wasn't expecting anything other than the confidence boost, so this was an adorable surprise. I honestly had no gauge for how I was doing in terms of votes, and seeing my competition made me feel even more grateful for just being nominated. But I WON, and it was truly hard not to ugly cry. I was *that* happy. Later this week I am going to hit my 500th post! 500! I'd say this award makes the milestone that much more sweeter. 

I truly can't thank you enough.

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SHOP THE LOOK:

Linking up for Style to Inspire, Mix it Monday, Personal Style Monday, and Rachelle and Cha Cha for #HowIFall.

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